Every course across both stages, side by side

Five named courses across two stages

Official course descriptions name five distinct courses across the two stages of the I Belong Programme — three entry-level courses in Stage 1 (the Pre-Integration Course), and two more advanced courses in Stage 2 (the Integration Course). Here is every published detail we have found, side by side, so you can see exactly what is documented — and just as importantly, what is not.

Where this table reads “not separately published,” that reflects the limits of the official wording we have located — not an estimate or a stand-in figure. See Stage 1 and Stage 2 for the fuller descriptions each course sits within.

Why the totals matter for Long-Term Residence

The two Stage 2 courses add up to 170 hours of instruction with two different published pass-mark conditions. That total sits at the centre of a discrepancy this guide has identified: a separate Identità source describing the Long-Term Residence certificate requirement uses a single figure of 100 hours and a 75% mark — a figure that does not cleanly match the two-course, 170-hour structure shown above. Neither official source explains the relationship between the two descriptions, so we are stating both plainly rather than guessing.

See the full Long-Term Residence breakdown for every figure side by side and what this means in practice.

Frequently asked questions

Why don't the Stage 1 courses show hours or pass marks?

Because we have not found those figures published for the three Stage 1 courses (English Language, Maltese Language, and Cultural Orientation at MQF Level 1) in the official wording we have located. Stage 2's two courses, by contrast, come with explicitly published hour counts and pass-mark conditions. Rather than estimate the missing Stage 1 figures from the Stage 2 ones — which are different courses at a different MQF level — we are showing the gap honestly. If the Human Rights Directorate publishes them, we will add them here with a dated note.

Why is "Cultural Orientation" listed twice?

Because official course descriptions name a Cultural Orientation course in both stages — at MQF Level 1 in Stage 1, and again at MQF Level 2 with 120 published hours and an 80% attendance plus 75% pass-mark requirement in Stage 2. They appear to be two distinct courses at two different qualification levels that happen to share a name, not the same course repeated. We have not found official wording explicitly confirming whether completing one has any bearing on the other.

Which of these courses count toward the Long-Term Residence certificate?

Official wording links Stage 2 completion — not Stage 1 — to Long-Term Residence eligibility: "Stage 2 is one of the requirements for Long Term Residence Status for Third Country Nationals." But a separate Identità source describes the certificate itself in terms of a single 100-hour course and a 75% mark, a figure that does not cleanly match the 170-hour, two-course, two-pass-mark Stage 2 structure shown in this table. See the dedicated breakdown for the full discrepancy.

Official sources for this page

• Human Rights Directorate (opens in a new tab)

  Official I Belong Programme overview: the two-stage structure, eligibility, course content, and current Stage 1 application status.

  Source last checked: 8 June 2026

• Government of Malta — reforms.gov.mt (opens in a new tab)

  Official Government of Malta service description of I Belong Programme Stage 1 (Pre-Integration Course): eligibility and course content.

  Source last checked: 8 June 2026

• Government of Malta — reforms.gov.mt (opens in a new tab)

  Official Government of Malta service description of I Belong Programme Stage 2 (Integration Course): prerequisite, course structure, and Long-Term Residence connection.

  Source last checked: 8 June 2026